After an epic and amazing meal at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, we decided to take the following day and come back to the farm to explore. Now I am an animal lover, however, I have no problem (and actually quite enjoy) seeing an animal alive knowing that it will be served for dinner shortly. I have a definite detachment. Maybe I’m weird that way.
We went to their cafe and tried the fresh baked croissants and blueberry muffins. These were awesome, fresh, and cooked just right.
And the cafe was filled with beautiful fruit.
And walls of local products.
After we ate, we started to walk around the grounds. They have old grain silos that they made into a sitting are and a coat closet. It was a beautiful site inside.
We went in search of pigs… and pigs we found. Great big pigs. Mmmm delicious.
There really are Stone Barns on the property and they give it a very unique and beautiful look.
The greenhouse where they grow the food has a movable roof so you can flip up the glass panels in nicer weather.
Inside is a wealth of veggies and herbs, half of which I had never heard of.
And they took as much are in how they planted as to how they plated the night before.
We ducked around the back to see some young chickens hanging out in a barn.
And stumbled upon some more pigs as we took a bit of a hike on the grounds.
This guy was behind an electric fence that looked more like a few pieces of string. I remember hearing about pigs that eat humans and won’t say I wasn’t a little nervous this guy wasn’t going to come charging.
On the top fields, it was turkeypalooza. Turkeys turkeys everywhere!
And an errant chicken was hanging out beside the road. I’m pretty sure this gal earned her freedom.
We were just in time for bath time for the piglets.
These guys were absolutely adorable.
And really loved their mud baths.
Clean vs. dirty
Pig butts.
We checked out the sheep. These guys were all marked (I assume some for shearing, some for milking, and some for grilling)
There was also an area of beehives. I didn’t get close enough to get any good pictures of the bees… for good reason.
There were chicken coups all along the way and some kids were around collecting eggs right out of them. Quite cool.
They also have a beautiful flower garden on the property. On this particular day they were hosting a Farmer’s Market and it was surrounded by beautiful blooms. This daylily caught my eye.
And I really like how there are blooms at every different stage of life in this following photo.
We ended our day at Stone Barns by taking a jamming and canning class.
It was taught by a woman named Kelly Geary who wrote Tart and Sweet. The class itself was a bit haphazard, but it was good to see how it was made and I walked away confident that with a little bit of research, I could do it (and I just did! Tonight!)
The farm is a really great place to spend a day, and it’s very close to Manhattan. You can take a quick train up and get a taxi or drive up in less than an hour. It is a really fun place for kids and the day we were there, many events were going on. You can get more information on their website, but I highly recommend a visit (followed by a meal!)
